Men caught smuggling monkeys in their underwear

Security guards at Delhi’s airport in India discovered that two men had hidden tiny primates in their underwear and were apparently trying to smuggle them aboard a flight to Dubai, the BBC reports. The primates are loris, natives of India and Sri Lanka.

The tiny animals — one was only 7 inches long — were taken from Indira Gandhi International Airport to an animal hospital.

The smugglers were taken into custody.

The loris is a popular pet, but one that may be on its way to extinction, the BBC reports.

A loris at a London zoo in July 2011. Getty Images

Lorises have become a popular exotic pet in recent years, despite alarms raised by conservationists that the trade is contributing to their demise in the wild.

Indonesia’s loris population has been devastated by the boom in people wanting them as pets.

Conservationists say poachers pull out their teeth – as the primates have a toxic bite – with pliers, making it impossible for them to return to the wild.